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U.S. SCHOLAR ADDS A BOCCACCIO CLUE

An American scholar who two months ago dug out the archives of Florence, Italy, facts that indicated that Giovanni Boccaccio, author of the “De­cameron,” may have been ar­rested in 1367 for gambling, has found another shred of evi­dence in the old records.

Prof. Marvin B. Becker of the University of Rochester told about his original find in an issue of Rennaissance News six weeks ago. He had discovered in the State Archives of Flor­ence that a man named Boc­chaccii had been arrested and fined for playing “zara,” a dice game, on July 25, 1367.

Dr. Sergio Camerani, director

In the year the arrest took place, Dr. Camerani noted, the author was an Ambassador of the Florentine Republic. It would be strange for an Am­bassador to risk being “sur­prised” in a dice game, the ar­chivist said.

That neither settled the issue nor halted Profesor Becker's re­searches. He commented that “only further studies will give a definite result.”

Redently he wrote Renais­sance News that he had made a new discovery. This was anoth­er document in the State Ar­chives, which he said was in volume 108, unnumbered folio, Aug. 20, 1365. The document recorded the author's embassy

The spelling of the Ambas­sador's name was “Bocchaccii.” This was the same used by the Florentine authorities for the name of the dice player ar­restedin 1367.

Professor Becker informed Renaissance News editors that he is on the trail of other ma­terials concerning the public career of Boccaccio. He indi­cated he believed research would show that Boccaccio re­mained devoted to literature, poetry and classical scholar­ship throughout his life.

Many scholars believe that Boccaccio's thought, style and interests changed after the witty, licentious tales of the “Decameron.” Professor Becker, in his article in Renaissance News about his original find, wrote that if it proved true that the author and the un­lucky dice player were the same Boccaccio, it could mean “that his last years were not always spent in pious anxiety.”